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Pitchers on the Move

1. Jenrry Mejia is headed back to the Buffalo Bisons rotation.
He’s now scheduled to start Monday. In 16 relief outings with the Bisons, he have up 27 his over 21.1 innings for an opponents’ batting average of .303 and a K/BB ratio of 1.1 (10 K/9 BB). He simply was not pitching well in the role.

There’s an interesting degree of double-talk from the Mets about the shift back and forth. In June, with three AAA starts to his credit, when he was moved from the Bisons rotation to the bullpen, the idea was that he would be ready to help the big league team in 2012. Now, he’s going to start for a month as the team’s slide has lessened the demand for immediate bullpen help.

2. LOOGY ShiftLHP Robert Carson, who is on the Mets’ 40-man roster, was promoted to AAA Buffalo. LHP Adam Kolarek, who is nine days older than Carson, was promoted from from advanced-A St. Lucie.

Carson’s a big guy with a plus fastball, who’s never really conquered AA. He leaves the B-Mets with a 4.79 ERA this year in 35.3 innings with 45 hits allowed fora .300 batting average against. He owns a 37/15 (2.5 K/BB) ratio. His splits are dramatic: lefties have hit .188/.212/.219 against him with one extra-base hit in 32 at-bats while righties have clubbed him at a .331/.396/.458 with 11 extra-base hits in 118 AB. His fastball sits around 94 mph, and his slider lives around 87 and his changeup is roughly 86. I just don’t know that he has an answer for right-handed batters.

The 23-year old Kolarek was a Mets’ 11th round pick in 2010 out of the University of Maryland. The 23-year old, who is a solidly built at 6’3″ 215, has put up video game numbers in St. Lucie: 1.65 ERA, 49 IP, 38 H, 11 R, 9 ER, 15 BB, 63 K. He’s generally 89-92 with a four-seam fastball, although he can touch 93. His second pitch when he was in Savannah was a big curveball. He has decent command. There’s a little bit of deception in his delivery, although scouts describe his arm stroke as “long.” He’s held lefties to a nuts .138/.211/.154 line and a .365 OPS in 65 AB in advanced-A while righties have hit .257/.317/.336 against him in 113 AB.

3. Logan Verrett Promoted to St. Lucie
RHP LoganVerrett, the Mets third round pick out of Baylor in 2011, was promoted from Savannah to advanced-A St. Lucie. The 22-year old alternated two excellent starts with two rough ones in Savannah in July. His final line in 11 starts: 3.06 ERA, 64.2 IP, 57 H, 32 R, 22 ER, 7 HR, 9 BB, 67 K. The best thing in that line is the 7.4 K/BB ratio. He missed a month and a half, from late April through early June with right shoulder impingement.

Verrett is basically a three-pitch guy: fastball, slider and changeup. He’ll show a curve, max twice per start, but it’s not an effective piece of his arsenal. His fastball velocity has vacillated, most recently, he hit 93 in the first inning, before settling down at 90-91 mph. There’s not a lot of movement on the pitch, and when he leaves it up, he gets hit, even in the SAL. In starts in late June, he was more 88-91. He has some feel for the slider, which will be his best pitch. There’s not enough fastball here to project an impact starter, but he has chance at the back end of a rotation. I think his destination is the bullpen where he can come in and let it fly, and hope to keep a velocity bump in shorter outings.